


Professor Lehnsherr

by mutant_superwholock117



Category: Marvel, X-Men (Movies)
Genre: AU, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, F/M, I did my best, Love, M/M, NaNoWriMo attempt, erik is a teacher, fandoms - Freeform, no mutations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 20:55:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5179313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mutant_superwholock117/pseuds/mutant_superwholock117
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(This is a fanfic separate from my other X-Men one: Mutant turned Lover turned Hunter. I use the same main character, but the stories are completely different. But you should totally go check the other one out as well. I'll be updating it a lot more once NaNoWriMo is over.)</p>
<p>Elaine Dobbs has been waiting for college forever. She's been craving the freedom for years. And now that it's finally here, she can't wait for all the new experiences. But there's one experience she's not prepared for:falling head over heels for her brooding english teacher, Erik Lehnsherr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Everyone has different meanings of the word freedom. For some it’s music, for some it’s booze, for some it’s traveling.

For Elaine, it was college.

She had worked towards it for years. The thoughts of it helped her survive high-school without losing it. She’d missed out on party after party so she could study instead and raise her GPA. Colleges loved that shit. 

And then her freedom finally came. 

In the form of an acceptance letter, a month before her high school graduation.


	2. Chapter 2

College was a lot quieter than high school. Elaine had always imagined it would be louder. People rushing everywhere with places to be, things to do. Finally being able to live their lives. 

But it wasn’t really like that. People were going places, sure. But no one was rushing. Everyone seemed to be pretty calm. Elaine kind of felt that way too. Like she had reached the end of a race, and now she could finally breathe. 

Her mom had dropped her off an hour ago, and she had just finished bringing all her stuff to her room. She had said her goodbyes, promised to call, and then finally finally, she was free. She could practically feel her wings starting to sprout. 

She couldn’t remember a time when she was happier. Actually, she couldn’t remember being completely happy ever since her dad moved out and her mom’s boss, Rick (“the Dick” as Elaine liked to call him) moved in. 

After that Elaine spent the least amount of time that she possibly could at her house. She couldn’t stand to see Rick sitting at their kitchen table. Sitting in her dad’s seat, using his coffee mugs, eating from the jar of hot sauce her dad and her had shared. Like her dad was just an old pair of shoes her mom got tired of; and decided to toss away. It made Elaine sick. 

So she’d find ways to avoid home. Mostly studying at the library. She quickly became the librarians pet. They loved “seeing the youth using the library’s resources” as they would say. 

They let her use their coffee machine in their office. They would always reserve her favorite seat in the back of the library for her, right next to the window so she could do homework. And on tuesdays when Joan was working she’d even give her the keys, and let her stay as long as she wanted , as long as she locked up.  
Some nights she’d stay till eleven or midnight. Sometimes later. Not that her mom ever noticed. She barely noticed anything besides Rick or work anymore. Or making herself look younger for Rick. He was five years younger than her; and and she was always worried he’d move on to the next sexy secretary that came into the office. 

And even if she did say something, Elaine wouldn’t really care. There was no way she could focus on homework at her house. And there was no way she was going to sacrifice her grades. She couldn’t. Not with college coming up. Getting out was too important to her.  
And then her letter came. And she didn’t have to worry any more. 

Unlike the past five years of her life, the last month of high school flew by. She breezed through exams, took her lab partner to prom (keeping her virginity in the process. He ended up going home with her best friend Andrew. Not that she cared. Her eyes weren’t on him. They were on college).

After graduation she finally went to parties again. Some of them made her wish she had gone to more throughout high school; and others made her glad she didn’t.

Summer was spent getting ready to leave. She would have though-or at least hoped a little- that her mom would be more attentive. You know, realize that her only child was leaving, and would want to spend more time with her. But no. If anything, she almost seemed happy that she was leaving. Like she was relieved that Elaine was finally going so that she could focus on living her own life and not have to feel guilty about it.  
Elaine was fine with that. Her mom could have her life, and Elaine could have her own.


	3. Chapter 3

As Elaine walks around campus, all she can think about is how everything here seems so much brighter, happier. More carefree, and open. Just so much...more. 

Elaine wanted to soak it all up. To take everything inside her and keep filling until she was ready to burst. 

Her first stop was the art studio. She had been fantasizing about it the entire drive down from her house, and couldnt wait to see if it matched her imagination.

Turns out it was even better. 

The studio was a large square-ish room, with walls so covered in artwork you couldn’t tell what the colors once were. Huge windows let in sunlight, turning the whole room golden. There was a couple glass cases in the back, and was filled with clay sculptures of all sorts. There were disney characters, inanimate objects, fantasy creatures, etc. Folded up easels were hung on one of the walls; and canvases, some painted on and some bare were next to them. There were shelves full of art supplies, promising medias and colors of every kind.

Elaine turns around in circles, trying to take in everything at once. All she wanted to do was dive in and create something. Her hands instinctively reach for her sketchbook in her bag, when something suddenly catches her eye. On one of the canvases, someone had painted an eye. It looked like a real eye, and the only thing proving different was that the iris was a blend of colors. Different shades of every color fill it, some dripping out of the corners of the eye like tears. In small, cursive writing the owner had written in black ink, “There’s beauty in the world. We just have to open our eyes in order to see it.” 

Elaine can feel something moving inside her. That special feeling she gets only when she’s looking at art. Like every emotion is crashing on her like waves would when she’s go to the beach. When she was a kid and would go into the ocean, the waves would pile down on her over and over and over. Leaving her with almost no possibility to breathe. Looking at art kind of gave her the same feeling. 

She was just about to pull out her camera and take a picture, when a voice from behind stops her. 

“Excuse me, but no students are supposed to be in here until tomorrow.” 

The voice is deep and calm, shaking Elaine out of her own head. She spins around to find a tall man standing in the studio doorway. He’s in a black turtleneck, and leather jacket, and his long legs are covered in jeans. He has short, wavy brown hair.

Elaine stands frozen, her stomach jumping not only from being caught, but from having his heavy gaze alone on her. 

A small crooked grin plays its way onto the man’s thin lips. "Don't worry," he says. "You aren't going to get in trouble. I was just letting you know." 

"Oh, yeah." Elaine stammers, finally gaining her wits back. "I-I just came here to look. I'm majoring in art and was c-curious about the studio. And then I saw that," she gestures to the paining. "And I...I don't know. I'm sorry. I'll leave." 

She walks past him to the door when his voice stops her again. "You like it?"

She stops, and then turns around; his back is turned to her, but his head is turned halfway around. "Well, yeah. I mean...it's beautiful."  
She can't be sure, but she thinks she sees him smile fully on her way out.


	4. Chapter 4

Elaine finishes checking out the campus. She walks around the cafe, the classroom buildings, and eventually settled down with her sketchbook at the park in the middle of everything. It's mostly just a field with trees and benches. But there's a small pond in the middle of everything, and it's nice. A good place to draw. 

She puts her pencil to the paper, but no inspiration comes. She tries to draw some students sitting by the pond, but they don't come out right. Eventually she starts to doodle, letting her mind wander. And it wanders all the way to the man in the art room. To his eyes and his voice. She wondered who he was. He clearly wasn't a student. Maybe he was one of the art teachers. 

Without realizing it, her pencil begins to move as she thinks. She wondered if she would have a class with him. And if he was an art teacher what kind of work he did. 

She thinks about his hands. Those hands were big enough for sculpting for sure.And other things too, probably. she thinks.   
Shaking her head to get rid of these thoughts, she looks at her paper to see what she'd been drawing, and discovers the man's green eyes staring back up at her. 

******************

When the sun starts to go down, Elaine decided to head back to her room to see if her roommate's there. 

The school was co-ed, so Elaine's roommate was a guy named Hank McCoy. They had talked a little over email, and he seemed nice so far. Definitely really smart. Like, rocket scientist smart. She just hoped they would get along okay for the year. She had been a little nervous when she found out she'd be sharing a room with a guy, but she had decided that since she had spent most of her life doing nothing, now that she was at college she was going to try almost anything. 

Elaine reaches her room; sketchbook still in hand. She wasn't sure if she was going to keep the eyes drawing. She was still deciding. 

She opens the door to find a guy standing at the bed opposite to the one she had picked. He was in the middle of unpacking a cardboard box, but he stopped and looked up when she walked in. He had messy brown hair, and big glasses. But he had a really kind smile.

"Hello." He says, holding up a hand in greeting. "I'm Hank. You’re Elaine I'm guessing." 

"That would be me." She says, setting her bag down on her bed. She shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you." 

"You too." 

Elaine sits on her bed, and Hank goes back to unpacking. 

"So, what are you majoring in?" Hank asks her as he pulls some sweaters out of his box. 

"Art." Elaine says. "What about you?" 

"Science." Hank answers. "I want to be an engineer." 

"Oh that's really cool." Elaine says. "I know nothing about what engineers do, but that's really cool." 

Hank laughs. "Yeah, I don't even know too much about it myself." 

“What do you think you want to do with engineering?” Elaine asks, sitting with her back against the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest. 

Hank stops unpacking and turns to face her. “Create something for people. Something meaningful.” His eyes were hazel, and turned strong. “What do you want to do with art?”

Elaine smiles. “Exactly the same thing.”


	5. Chapter 5

Elaine’s P.O.V

A little while later, Hank and I head down to the dining hall for supper. We were going to meet up with a couple of hank’s friends from high school. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but then I reminded myself not to say no to any new experiences. That was the whole point of coming to college. To have new experiences. 

After grabbing our food (pizza, yum) I follow Hank through the cafe to a table in the back, with three people already sitting and eating. A beautiful blonde girl was reading from a textbook; ignoring the two guys to her left. One pale with sandy blonde hair, the other darker with black curly hair. They were in the middle of a conversation, not aware of anything else surrounding them.

“Hey guys.” Hank says to get their attention as we sit down. 

The girl is the only one who hears us. She looks up and smiles. Then turns to the boys and closes her textbook shut with a smack!

“Hey!” she says “Lovebirds.” The blonde boy rolls his eyes at the word. “Pull away from each other for one minute. We have company.”

The two of them turn to look at us, finally seeing we were there. 

“Oh, hello.” the dark haired boy says, smiling politely. he sticks his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Darwin. This is Alex,” he gestures to the blonde boy, who nods.   
“And this is Raven.” The girl, who smiles. 

I start to introduce myself, when another boy joins us. He has crazy messy red hair, and a goofy smile. He sits down in between Alex and Darwin. They definitely don’t seem to like this. 

“Pizza!” the boy cries. “Reminds me of home food.” 

“Sean, how does this remind you of home food?” Raven asks. “This is take-out pizza.”

“Right,” Exactly like mom’s cooking.” The boy says. 

The blonde guy-Alex, I correct myself-rolls his eyes again. He’s pretty good at it actually. “This is Sean. The weird one.” he says. 

“I prefer the coolest one.” Sean responds. Then he winks at me. “And don’t forget the hottest.”

It’s my turn to roll my eyes. He leans forward, extending his hand for me to shake. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I’m Cassidy. Sean, Cassidy” I take his hand, expecting to shake it, but then get pulled halfway across the table as he yanks my hand to his mouth to kiss the back of it. I slowly sit back in my seat, not sure how to react.

Raven swats him on the shoulder. “Leave her alone. She’s the first girl we’ve had in this group since sophomore year. I don’t want you scaring her away.”

Sean grins. “Relax, Raven. If anything, I’ll probably end up pulling her closer.” 

I just roll my eyes and take a bite of my pizza so I won’t have to say anything. Not used to being hit on by guys, and not always that great with sarcasm, I’m not really sure what to say to him. 

Hank seems to sense my discomfort, because he quickly changes the subject, asking if everyone’s excited for classes tomorrow. 

I listen to him and Raven talk about the classes they have together, with Sean occasionally butting in to add his opinion. I discover that I have a couple classes with them as well, and I also find out that Raven’s studying to be an english teacher. We have the same class, but not at the same time. Alex and Darwin stick to their own conversation, doing their best to talk around Sean’s constantly fidgeting body. Eventually Alex gets tired of it.

“Cassidy!” he cries. “Move!”

“Why?” Sean whines. “I’m comfy.” 

“Too fucking bad, man. Get up.” Alex shoves him. Lightly, but Sean takes the hint and moves to sit next to Raven, whose answering a text. A wide grin is on her face as she tells us, “Guy’s, Angel, just invited to come check out the new place she’s working at. Tonight's their grand opening.”

“Is it any thing like the last place?” Hank asks.

“I hope so.” Sean says through a mouthful of pizza.

Raven shakes her head. “Nope. This place is classy.” 

“Classy. Right. That’s what she called the last place.” Darwin says skeptically.

“No, she called it sophisticated.” Raven corrects him.

“That place was not sophisticated.” Alex says. “That place was-”

“Heaven.” Sean cuts in.

“Disgusting.” Hank says. I watch their conversation go back and forth, trying to figure out what they’re talking about.

Finally, while Raven and Sean are arguing over whether the place was “nasty and degrading” like Raven says, or “every man’s wet dream” like Sean says. Hank leans over and explains.

“They’re talking about a strip bar our friends Angel used to work at. She graduated from here two years ago and is trying to pay off her student loans. But the last place she worked at…” he shakes his head and grimaces. His nose crinkles, pushing his glasses up his face a little bit. “...it wasn’t a good place. We were all happy when she got out of there.”

“What was wrong with it?” I ask, a little surprised. I had never known anymore who worked in a strip bar. Or anyone who even knew how to strip. The type of people i hung out with were too modest for anything like that. Myself included. The thought of a bunch of people I didn’t know seeing me in my underwear made me want to throw up.

“It was a hole in the wall kind of place. Really run down, falling apart. Plus, the kind of people who went there were creeps. The guys were always trying to get the girls...well, to give them more than just the standard show, if you know what I mean.”

“One of the guys tried to put the moves on Angel one night.” Darwin says, continuing Hank’s story. “He got really rough too; almost broke her arm when she refused him. So she quit. Good thing, too. We were all starting to get really worried about her being in that place.”

I blink, quiet. Not sure what to say. “That’s awful.” didn’t really seem right. used too many times for it to mean anything anymore. 

Luckily, Raven steps in before I have to respond. "This place is different guys, trust me. I dropped her off there earlier and it looked really nice."

"Maybe we should go." Alex says, "Just to make sure." 

"What, you don't trust my judgement?" Raven asks teasingly. 

"Not after your last choice in men, no I don't." Alex responds. The whole table **ooohhhhhs** and Raven blushes. Poking at her salad with her fork. 

"Okay." She says. "I deserved that. It was a low blow, but I deserved it.”

Sean chugs down the rest of his Coke and let's out a huge belch. "So are we going or what?"

Raven makes a sound of disgust. "You're so gross." Sean just smiles big, showing all his teeth.

"You look like Professor Lehnsherr." Alex tells him. The whole table laughs.

"Who's that?" I ask.

"One of the English teachers." Raven tells me. "He looks like he could be the cousin of the shark in frickin' Jaws.." Sean adds. "Actually, that's what we call him."

I frown in confusion. "What do you mean? Why?"

When he smiles, he shows all his teeth." Hank explains. 

"Like a shark opening his mouth before he eats you." Raven says. 

Sean holds his hands up like claws and bears his teeth at me. He growls and pretends to bite down on something. Raven giggles. 

"Hey, guys." Alex says. "There he is now." He points to an area behind me, and we all swivel in our seats to look. 

My eyes dart around the area he's pointing to, searching for this shark, when suddenly my eyes land on the man I saw in the art room earlier. He was standing next to a slightly younger man, and they looked like Alex and Darwin when we came to the table-deep in a conversation, and unaware of anything else around them.

"Ugh." Raven groans. "I have his English class tomorrow. That's going to suck."

"Good luck." Hank says. 

"Don't let him eat you." Sean jokes.

"Who are you guys talking about?" I ask, confused.

Sean reaches over Raven and points. "Guy in the leather jacket and turtleneck. Scary eyes. Lehnsherr." 

My eyes widen as he points directly at the man from earlier. Lehnsherr. I turn back to look at him. That's him?" I ask. "But, I met him earlier. He's not scary." 

Every one of them bugs their eyes at me. "You met Lehnsherr?" Raven asks. "And you lived?”

I pause, not sure why they react this way. "Yeah. He's nice, almost."

"Nice?!" Sean cries in disbelief. "You are talking about professor Lehnsherr right? Not professor Xavier?"

"Who's that?"

"The guy standing next to Lehnsherr." Sean says. "Shaggy brown hair-"

"Pretty blue eyes, delicious British accent." Raven finishes dreamily for him. 

All the guys groan in exasperation . Hank dips back down into his pizza. 

"We don't need to hear about your kinky professor fantasy again, Raven." Alex says. "We've heard it enough." 

"Too many times." Hank grumbles. 

"Oh come on guys," Raven protests. "Who wouldn't want to bang their teacher?" All the guys raise their hands. 

"Unless it was Ms. Mctaggert." Sean says, grinning. "That's one teacher I wouldn't mind getting in the sack." All the boys nod their heads in agreement. Raven and I roll out eyes at each other. 

"Boys." She sighs. 

"What are we gonna do with them?" I add. 

She grins mischievously. "Oh, I could think of a few things." I laugh. 

"Alright," Sean takes back control of the conversation. "So are we going, or what?"

"I think we should." Raven says. "I mean, first day of college tomorrow, right? We should celebrate."

"By getting so drunk we won't even be able to function through our first day of college?" Hank questions. 

"Exactly."

"We don't have to get drunk." Darwin says. "We could just go out and enjoy our last free night before we have to start cramming."

"I think it sounds like fun." I say. I'm not really a drinker-I mean, I've had beers before, and a shot once. But I've never drank so much I got hungover. My idea of a god time isn't drinking until I can't even remember what happened the day before. A night out with friends though, that sounds like fun. I can't remember the last time I had that.

Everyone else seems interested in going too, so we decide to go right after we finish eating.

"God, it's going to be so great having another girl to hang out with." Raven says. "I'm so sick of watching these boys drool over the girls by myself. Oh! And I can do your hair! I mean, if you want me to do your hair, that is."

I grin. I had never had someone else do my hair before. Besides my mom braiding my hair when I was little. "I would love it if you did my hair. And maybe my makeup? If you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind! I haven't had anyone's makeup or hair to do since Angel graduated. I missed it so much once I had to practice on Sean."

Sean glares. "The lipstick didn't come off for a week. It looked like I was constantly bleeding." Raven and Alex start laughing. "You wouldn't be laughing if it was you, pretty boy." He grumbles at Alex. 

Alex's eyebrows shoot up. His eyes harden, and he looks dangerous. "Pretty boy?" He moves towards Sean like he's going to grab him. Sean launches out of his sheet and crouches on the floor on the other side of Raven. He grabs onto her leg and starts to fake cower. Hank chokes on his pizza because he's laughing so hard.   
Darwin seems to be having the same problem. 

Raven pulls him off and plunks him into the chair next to me. Oh great. 

"Don't call me pretty boy." Alex grumbles. Darwin finally stops laughing and leans in towards Alex and says, “yeah, only I get to call him pretty boy.” 

I've never seen anyone in my life flush as red as Alex did when Darwin said that. The entire table laughs and aaawwws. 

The rest of supper is noisy, with everyone talking over each other, and laughing. It was almost impossible to hear what each of us was saying. And I loved it. It was the most fun meal I've had in years.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what strip places are like, so sorry if I got it all wrong

After we're all done eating, we all head back to our dorm rooms to get ready. Hank goes with Alex and Darwin back to theirs, and I go with Raven and Sean back to theirs so Raven can help me get ready. I don't know the first thing about makeup, or clubs, or even hair really. So I'm really happy she's here to help me out. 

She goofs around with Sean on our way to their room, but once we get inside, she's all business. Immediately she has me sit on her bed as she she gets out her "treasure chest of makeup" as she calls it.

As she’s digging for her box, my gaze wanders around the room.It’s pretty much identical to Hank’s and my room. Except there are several boxes everywhere with stuff overflowing from them. Mostly clothes, which I assume are Raven’s. There are even posters already on the walls. On one side there’s posters of video games and girls in bikinis-which I’m guessing are Sean’s-and a couple movie posters like The Great Gatsby and 13 going on 30-which is probably Raven’s.

“A-ha!” Raven cries. “Here it is. My treasure chest.”

Her "treasure chest" turns out to be a ginormous black box with three layers of pull of shelves. It’s like a Mary Poppins bag, but with cosmetology equipment.

“Tie your hair back, please.” she says, handing me one of her hair elastics. I tie it back into a quick ponytail, and then she comes at me with eye shadow.

“Now, I don’t need to put too much makeup on, ‘cause already so damn gorgeous.” I scoff. “Don’t make that noise at me.” she continues, smirking as she begins to stroke the brush lightly over my eyelids. “It’s true.” she says. “She suddenly stops and turns around and asks Sean. “Isn’t she.” 

As a response, he lets out a loud wolf whistle. I can’t help but laugh a little.

“See?” Raven says, turning her attention back to me. “Close, please.” I close my eyes and she continues with the eye shadow. “I’m just giving you a little...color. Open...Good. Close.”

She finishes up with the eye shadow, and then adds mascara, eyeliner, and then hands me lipstick to apply. 

“Ooohh, you look so good!” Raven squeals. “Check it out! Check it out!” She hands me a small mirror, waiting for my reaction. 

My eyes widen when I see myself in the mirror.I still looked like myself, but...different. I’m not sure how to describe it really. It sort of looked like Raven had released a more confident, well defined me; turning my features sharper, and louder. 

“Wow, Raven...I look amazing. I love it. Thanks.”

A huge smile takes over her face. “Yay! I’m so glad! Hey, if you want I could teach you how to do makeup if you want. That way you could wear it whenever.” 

“Um...yeah, maybe.” I say. But I’m not too sure. 

“Do you know what you’re going to wear?” Raven asks me. 

I looked down at what I was wearing. A black and white plaid miniskirt with black tights, a dark blue t-shirt, my purple chucks, and a beanie. “This?” I say uncertainly. 

Raven gives me a quick once over. “It’s definitely a cute outfit, but not exactly right for the kind of place we’re going to. Hang on, I have an idea.” she gets up and goes to one of her half-unpacked boxes. She returns with a short black dress with long sleeves. The sleeves are made with see through material, with patterns of flowers running down the fabric. 

“Try these.” she tells me, handing the dress over. 

I begin to pull off my shirt, when I realize that Sean’s still in the room. And staring at me and Raven, a grin on his face. 

“Sean, do you mind?” I ask. “I’m about to change.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.” he leans back against his bed, his hands under his head.

Raven goes over and pulls him off the bed. “Out.” she commands before shoving him out the door. She even locks it, just to be safe.

“I’m really sorry about him, Elaine.” she sits down and begins to do her makeup in the small mirror. 

“It’s okay.”

“He’s harmless though, I promise.” she assures me. 

Now that Sean’s out of the room, I pull of my clothes, and replace them with the dress. 

As I was doing that, Raven pulled out a tall mirror, big enough to see all of myself. The dress fit amazingly. It was snug in all the right places, and it made my legs look pretty good.

Raven squeals again. “Oh Elaine, I love it! You look fantastic!”

I grin sheepishly. “Thanks to you.”

Raven scoffs. “You looked just as good without all of this anyway.” I blush and shrug. She goes back to getting herself ready, and within a half an hour, we’re ready to go. 

Sean, Raven, and I head outside to meet everyone else. Since freshmen aren’t allowed to have cars on campus, so we all take the bus to the bar. 

When they were talking about the place, I was expecting a small building with maybe a few cars parked outside and some music. But instead it turns out to be a pretty big place; with lights flashing through the windows, and cars everywhere.

The inside is even crazier. It’s brightly lit, with pumping music blasting from every corner. Girls and guys danced on tables with people around them; some sitting, some standing, but all of them cheering. Shouts of “More baby, more!” and “Oh yeah, lose the shirt!” could be heard. One particularly good guy dancer swiveled his sculpted hips and a couple of girls actually swooned. 

Darwin lets out a whistle. “This place is crazy.” everyone nods and murmurs in agreement. 

“Hey! There’s Angel.” Hank points to a girl approaching us. She’s wearing a black bra with matching black panties. And nothing else besides huge heels, and a big grin. 

“You guys showed up!” she cries happily as she hugs everyone in the group. Then she sees me. “Who’s this?”

“This is Elaine.” Hank says, putting an arm around my shoulders. “My roommate.”

Angel shakes my hand. “Nice to meet you.” Then to the group. “Come on, I got you guys a table. Stripper free, don’t worry. Wouldn’t want tonight to end up like the last time I hooked you guys up with a free performance.” She shoots Sean a pointed look, and he shrinks back with a bashful grin on his freckled face. 

Angel leads us to a table in the middle of the room. And thankfully, like she said, there’s no one dancing on it. 

Angel and Raven leave to go get some drinks for everyone, and the rest of us let our gazes trail around the room, soaking in it all.

“Well, it’s definitely better than the last place.” Alex says. He notices Darwin’s eyes on a male stripper a couple table down from us; and he jokingly asks him, “See anything you like?” 

Darwin’s head snaps around and his eyes meet Alex’s. A grin spreads out onto his face. “Yes. I see something I like quite a lot.” and then he leans in and kisses Alex on the lips, who blushed a shade of red even darker than before. The whole table erupted into applause and cheers. 

Raven and Angel choose that moment to come back, right at the end of the cheering. They smile at Alex and Darwin, and Angel ruffles Alex’s hair. 

They pass around the beers, and everyone starts questioning Angel about her new job. Apparently she really liked it. The boss-Logan-was really nice, and made sure his employees were well taken care off. 

“And he’s soooo incredibly hot.” Angel gushes. “And the muscles on this guy?” She shudders with pleasure. “Yum.”

“Just don't get yourself in trouble, okay Angel?” Hank says, concern coloring his voice.

She winks at him. “No promises. You know me, McCoy.” 

Hank chuckles “Yes, we all do.” 

They all start to talk, but it’s about stuff I know nothing about since I just joined this group. So my attention starts to wander, taking in my surroundings. It’s an interesting place, that’s for sure. But I’m pretty certain it’s not my kind of scene. 

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a door on the wall to my right open. It lets in a wave of bright light, which is immediately lost as it shuts. Through it walks a waiter, carrying an empty tray high up in the air. My eyes follow him as he walks through the room, expertly dodging the people watching the dancers. He goes over to the bar, gets a couple drinks from the bartender, and takes them back through the door.

I tap Hank on the shoulder. “What’s through there?” I ask, pointing to the door. 

“I don’t know. Hey Angel, what’s the door for?” Hank says. 

“Just some restaurant the boss owns. It’s for our ‘classier customers.’ he says.”

Sean frowns. “‘Classy’ meaning…?”

“People who want to eat without a bunch of nearly naked people dancing on their table, knocking over their orders.” says a man with a deep voice walking up behind Angel’s chair.

We all stare. This guy was huge; tall, with muscles on top of muscles.

Angel smiles up at the giant. “Hey boss. Guys, this is Logan. Logan, these are my friends.” we wave, and he gives a nod so small it’s like he barely moved his head.

He moves his attention back to Angel. “Playtime's over, sweetheart.” he says to Angel. “Time to get back to work.”

Angel downs the rest of her beer, then with a wave to us, follows Logan away. 

Raven watches them go, letting out a low whistle. “She wasn’t kidding. He is gorgeous.”

“Raven, that’s what you say about every well built guy you see.” Alex says.

“Yeah, cause it’s always true.” Raven says. Alex rolls his eyes.

We sit there for a while, sipping our drinks, talking as we look around. 

My attention keeps wandering to the restaurant door though. The dancers were...interesting, but I wasn’t really the stripper kind of girl. Or drinking apparently. Because everyone else is on their third or fourth beer and I haven’t even finished my first. By now it’s grown warm, and so I push it away a little. Not knowing what else to do, I start to zone out a little, half-listening to what everyone at the table is saying. 

A new song beginning to play over the speakers breaks me out of my daze. It’s louder than the ones played before, and the beats different. 

A bright light illuminates a stage, hidden previously by the dark. The curtain opens revealing Angel, and a group of other girls in formation behind her. They dance in tune to the music, drawing a crowd over to the stage. 

“Hey, people are starting to dance, come on!” Raven says excitedly, hopping up from her seat, pulling Sean and Darwin up with her. “Let’s go!” 

No one really wants to go, but one by one she gets us to agree. 

I follow everyone hesitantly up to the stage. I hate dancing. I was absolutely no good at it. But standing with them over here is better than sitting alone at the table. 

At first it’s okay. We all dance together, kind of just hopping around, watching Angel and the girls dance onstage. they’re actually pretty good.

But then the music changes, getting faster. And everyone in the crowd starts dancing closer and closer to each other. Grinding and moving against whoever's closest to them. 

Suddenly I feel a hand move down my back, and I rush out of the crowd before it can get any lower,. 

I lean against the wall, staring at the sea of bodies. There’s no way I’m going back in there. How do people find that entertaining? 

All I want is to get out. I can feel it rising up inside me. The desperate need to get out now. My breathing quickens, my heart beats harder and faster. My fists open and close, grasping at air. I close my eyes and try to breath. This frustration, this helplessness...I felt it every waking moment when I was at home. 

I notice the door to the restaurant opening up again; promising light and escape. And probably much better music. 

I hurry towards the door, catching it before it closes. I run through , and let it shut quietly, still breathing heavily. 

Stupid. I think to myself as I lean against the door. Why did you think it was a good idea to come here? You should have known better!

Just as my breathing is starting to even out, I hear a voice from behind me:

“Are we always going to meet this way?”

I freeze as the words fall over me. I know that voice. I turn around, and am unsurprised to find the man from the art room.

Professor Lehnsherr.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO sorry if this chapter is super cheesy

He’s sitting at a bar, wearing the same things from earlier today. Except his face looks even more amused than the last time. 

I stare at him, not quite sure what to say or do. 

“Come. Sit.” he says, gesturing to the empty barstool to his left. “I won’t bite,” his grin grows. “I’m not the shark everyone seems to think I am.”

My lips turn up at his comment. He gestures again, and I slowly walk over and sit down. ‘“So,” he says, taking a sip of his drink. “This is our second time meeting, and I still don’t know your name.”

I stare down at my hands, unable to meet his piercing blue eyes. 

“Elaine.” I say softly “Elaine Dobbs.” 

“That’s a lovely name.” his voice is husky and warm, bringin my gaze up to his. He holds out a hand for me to shake. “I’m Erik Lehnsherr. But I’m sure by now you know me as Jaws.” 

I shake his hand. He has a firm grip and rough hands, but they’re nice all the same. 

“Um,” I say, not sure what to tell him. 

“It’s fine.” he says with a small wave of his hand. “It doesn’t bother me. I hate to admit it, but it actually might be a bit accurate.”

He looks at me as if he expects me to agree, but all I can think about is how I don’t understand why anyone would say his smile looks dangerous. I think it’s lovely. 

“So, Elaine,” He says, turning in his seat so he’s facing me. “what brings you to a place like that?” he points to the door I just came through. 

“Oh, um..I don’t usually go to places like that. Well, actually, I never do. This is my first time. And I only came because...well, my roommate and his friends asked, I thought it would be fun. Not...the way it was.” I don’t know why, but I really didn’t want him thinking I was the kind of person who went to places like strip joints for fun. I don’t know why it felt so important to me, but it did. 

“And how was it?” Erik asks, picking up his glass to take another sip. 

The feeling of all those strange bodies pressed against me comes rushing back and I shudder. “It was awful.” I say. 

He nods. “Yes, I know.” his tongue comes out to lick his lips, pink contrasting against faint red. “You should try working there. It’s even worse.”

My eyes widen. “You...did that?”  
He laughs, making the corners of his eyes crinkles. I can feel something jump inside my chest. “Is that so hard to believe?” he asks. 

“A little. Turtlenecks don’t exactly scream ex-stripper.”

He laughs again. “No. No I suppose not.”  
“If you disliked it so much, why did you do it?” I ask, worried once I said it that I had gotten too personal. 

But he only shrugs. “When I moved here I had very little money. I needed to pay rent, get food, and get through school. Dancing was the fastest way. I did it only until I was able to get a teaching job, and then I stopped. And trust me, I don’t miss it.” He goes to take another sip of his drink, something dark, but suddenly stops. “I’m sorry. I'm being rude. Would you like a drink?” 

“Oh, I’m okay, thanks.” I say. “I’m not really a drinker.”

He grins. “Neither am I. This is actually a coke. Do you like those?”

I return his grin. “That sounds great, actually. I’ll go get my purse-” I start to get up, but his hand on my elbow stops me in my tracks. 

“Don’t worry about it.” he says. “It’s on me.”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to-”

“Do that?” he finishes for me. “Ms. Dobbs, I rarely do anything I don’t want to do. And besides, if it’s me losing money you’re worried about, don’t be. I don’t see why the owner of his own restaurant should have to pay for a drink.” he waves down the bartender and orders a coke for me, and a refill for him.

“Owner?” I ask. “You own this?” I look around the restaurant, taking in the sight of it for the first time. The lights were even more golden now that the dimness of the other room wasn’t affecting it. The walls were made of stone, giving it an old fashioned quality. And besides the ar, there were several tables and booths in the room. Not many were occupied though. 

“Well, co-own is more like it.” Professor Lehnsherr admits. “I own the restaurant half, and another guys owns the stripper half.”

Logan. I think. “So you’re a teacher and a chef?”

“I don’t cook in here very often. I mostly just handle the business part. I do love to cook though, so whenever I get the chance I jump behind the stove.”

Our drinks come, and he passes me mine. our fingers brush as I take it. And I know it sounds extremely cliche, but I swear I felt more than just his skin. It was like a shot of electricity down to my stomach. 

His eyes latch onto mine and as he watches me take a sip of my soda, he asks, “So now that you know a few things about me, why don’t you tell me a few things about you?” 

My eyes drop down to stare at the heels I borrowed from Raven. I suddenly feel so stupid sitting here in them. And in the heels, and makeup. It all feels so...so fake. Like I was desperately trying to be someone I knew I could never be in a million years. 

I bring my eyes back up to him, and before I can even focus on getting the words right, I spit out, “Well, I’m not usually like this, that’s for sure.” I gesture up and down my body. “I’m usually in the kind of stuff you saw me in earlier. Leggings, chucks, beanies. Stuff like that is more my style.” I shrug. “Not extremely girly I guess, but…”

“I thought what you had on earlier was nice. Creative. And cute.” he says, grinning. 

I’m sure I blush just as bright as Alex did when Darwin kissed him. I open and close my mouth, desperately trying to think of something witty or charming to say back.

Before I can though he says, “What else? What are your interests? I found you in the drawing room this afternoon so I’m guessing that’s one of them.”

I nod. “Yeah. I’d say that’s the main interest that I have. With writing coming up as a close second.”

Professor raises his eyebrows. “You like to write?”  
I nod again. “I’m minoring in english.”

“What kind of things do you like to write about?” I swallow a sip of coke then answer “Poetry, mostly. I write short stories now and then. I even did NaNoWriMo once. Most stressful November of my life.”

Professor laughs. “I’ve had students in my previous classes participate in that before. I’ve heard many complaints on how tough that can be.”

I nod. “Yeah. So...I guess I have youi for english.”

His mouth curves into a crooked smile. “That’s good to hear. It’ll be nice to have someone in my class that really cares about what we’re going to be learning in the class.”

“What exactly are we going to be learning about in the class?” I ask.

“Um,” he thinks for a minute, his fingers tapping lightly against his glass. “We’ll be doing a unit on writing, one on different types of literature. Such as poetry, which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. During that unit we’ll be studying authors such as Shakespeare, E.E.Cummings-”

“Oh I love E.E.Cummings.” I say excitedly. “I mean, I love Shakespeare too, but Cumings has always been one of my favorites.” 

He smiles, showing even more teeth. “I Love him too. His work is very inspirational.”

“Definitely.” I agree. “I actually have this one drawing in my sketch-book that I came up with after reading i like my body when it is with your body.”

His smile grows soft. Quietly, he begins to speak, “i like your body when it is with your body. it is quite so new a thing. muscles better and nerves more. i like your body. i like what it does. i like its hows. i like to feel the spine of your body and its bones, and the trembling-firm-smooth ness and which i will again and again kiss.”

His voice had grown lower and lower, his eyes crystal clear. I’m usually pretty bad when it comes to making eye contact, but I can’t look away from his. Before I’m even aware of what I’m doing my mouth is opening and I’m finishing the poem for him: “i like kissing this and that of you, i like, slowly stroking the,shocking fuzz of your electric furr,and what-is-it comes over parting flesh….and eyes big love-crumbs…” I trail off, my eyes dropping as embarrassment washes over me. 

But then, “and possibly i like the thrill…” I hear him prompt. 

I lift my head and finish: “of under me you so quite new.” 

By now both of us are leaning in towards each other, something I hadn’t even realized until he shifts back. I do the same, retreating back into my glass. When I look back at him, his smile has moved into his eyes as he watches me. He seems different. He isn’t sitting quite as straight, he’s taken off his coat. And he seems looser, somehow. It’s like the teacher part of him has melted away and now he’s just a man sitting at a bar, talking about poetry with a girl. 

It suddenly hit me where this night had gone. First I had gone to a strip bar, and now I was sitting in a restaurant, reciting poetry with my soon-to-be english Professor-The Shark.

I couldn’t tell if this was the best or strangest night ever.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I actually kind of like this chapter. Let me know what you guys think(:

We easily spend over an hour talking about thinks like that. I don’t remember having a conversation like this with anyone before. None of my friends from high school really understood poetry. So our conversations usually consisted of me listening to them talk about their interests and their hobbies. And forget talking to my mom about these things. If it wasn’t something about her or something extremely girly , she didn’t want to discuss it.

But Professor Lehnsherr was different. It probably had something to do with the whole being an english teacher thing, but he understood poetry, stories, just words in general and how meaningful they could be. 

We drink one, two, three more cokes. Laughing over stories we tell each other. Discussing books and movies; and books turned into movies. It was the most stimulating conversation I’d had in possibly my whole life. Words flowed so easily between us; I felt like I could sit here for the rest of the night talking to him and still have things to say when the sun rose.

“You’re quite the intelligent person, Ms.Dobbs.” he says.

“Thank you. And you...you are not at all what I expected.” I admit.

“Oh really? And what did you expect of me?” he leans his head on his fist. Our glasses sit next to each other, long emptied and forgotten. 

“Well…” I laugh. “Um, someone a lot more... intimidating, I guess is the right words.”

“Professor gives me a look of fake shock. “What? You don’t find me intimidating?” 

I giggle. “Um, no. Not really, no.”

“Hmm. We might have to change that. I can’t have you spreading that around. I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”

“What, as the scariest man on campus?”

“Yes. I have the best behaved class in the entire college because of how much my students fear me.”

Laughing a little I say, “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“I certainly hope so.” he says in a slightly lower voice. That was one thing I had noticed throughout the night. His voice would drop, making anything he said sound smooth and inviting. 

Erik-Professor-I mentally correct myself (even if he could recite poems by E.E. Cummings, he was still my teacher) suddenly notices the clock on the wall, which reads 11:15. “Wow.” he murmurs. “It’s gotten pretty late.” he turns back to me. “Am I keeping you from your friends?”

“Oh. I doubt it. They probably haven’t even realized I’m gone yet.” I say. Then I suddenly realize that maybe this was his way of trying to get away so he could go home. I doubt his idea of a good time was spending the night talking about books with an eighteen year old. “But, you probably want to get out of here, so, I’ll just go find them…”

I start to get up from my seat, but he stops me again; this time by placing a hand on top of mine. 

“No, that’s not it. I wasn’t trying to get rid of you. On the contrary, I was hoping you would be able to stay.I just figured the last thing a college student would want to do is spend the night talking about books with her soon-to-be english teacher.” he smiles sheepishly at me.

“I’m not exactly your normal college student.” I say. “In case you couldn’t tell already. And actually, I was having a pretty good time. I don’t know about you...”

“Are you kidding?” he asks. “I’m having a lovely time. And if you aren’t in a hurry to get back there, then I would very much like to continue our conversation.”

I am hyper aware of his hand on mine. His skin was warm, and I could feel the heat from that simple touch spread through my entire body. I swallow hard, and look from where our hands meet up to his eyes. 

I open my mouth to tell him that I’d like to continue it too. But before I can, I hear a door slam behind me, and when I turn around, Hank is standing there. Professor slowly slides his hand off mine. I feel the loss of his touch replaced by cold air. Hank looks back and forth between me and Professor, looking extremely confused. And concerned; like he might have me trapped here against my will.

“Hey Hank.” I say, since it’s obvious he’s just going to stand there. 

“...Hey.” he says finally. “I noticed you were missing from the group, and I wanted to find you to make sure you were okay.” he walks over to the bar, standing in front of our seats.

“You noticed an hour after she left?” Professor questions. His smile has been completely wiped away, and he’s staring at Hank like he’s a bug on his car window that he’d like to wipe away immediately.

“It’s pretty crowded in there. Easy to lose someone.” Hank says, defending himself. 

“Not if you’re paying attention.” Professor argues. Gone is the friendly man from before. I could now see a glimmer of the shark Hank and his friends had warned me about as Professor stares Hank down. “You should keep better track of your friends.” Professor tells Hank. “Especially if you’re going to bring them to a place like that.” He spits the words at Hank, his eyes no longer soft and inviting, but cold as the ice that was in our drinks.

Hank opens his mouth to reply, but before he can I say, “I’m fine, Hank. Really. It was just getting a little crowded in there for me, that’s all.”

He hesitates, but then nods. “Well, Angel gets off soon, and we’re all going to grab something to eat. You coming?”

Now it’s my turn to hesitate. I didn’t want to go back in there, but at the same time I didn’t want to cling to Professor Lehnsherr. 

“Hey did you find her yet?” we suddenly hear. This time it’s Sean coming through the door, followed by Raven.

“Yeah, Angel’s ready to-” she stops when she sees us. “...go.” she crosses her arms. “Elaine what are you doing? Why’d you come in here?” she wasn’t saying it, but her tone made it clear what she was actually asking. What are you doing in here, with him?

“I just needed some space. It was getting pretty crazy in there” I say, not able to look Professor in the eye. It was embarrassing, having them come in here, subtly treating him like a criminal who should be avoided. 

“Well, yeah.” Raven says. “That’s kind of the whole point of going to a place like this. To get a little crazy.” 

“And a little drunk?” Professor asks, his voice cool as he watched her. He was right, I realized. She was drunk. Her words were too messy and her actions too loose. Watching her and Sean, I realize they both are. My stomach drops. 

Raven just glares at him. “Elaine, are you ready to go?” she asks. “Ready to finally have some fun tonight?”

“I’ve been having fun.”

She rolls her eyes. “I mean actual fun.” she says. “Not sitting here with...a teacher. No offense.” she says fakely to Professor.  
He shakes his head. “None taken.” then he turns to me. His smile was still a little cold, but at least his eyes were warmer. “I think I’d better head out.” he says. He starts to get up and pull on his coat. “It’s been a lovely evening, Ms.Dobbs. And I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow.” he begins to leave, and then stops. Turning back to me he looks me up and down, as if he’s trying to make up his mind about something. Finally, he decides. Stepping forward, he takes my hand in his, warmth immediately flooding through my body once again. Lifting it up, he brings my hand to his lips, and gently kisses my knuckles. “ Goodnight, Ms.Dobbs.” he whispers. And with that, exits. Leaving me with three bewildered, and slightly drunk college kids.


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as we get back to the car, Raven starts questioning me. Asking why I was alone with Professor Lehnsherr, and why didn’t I just leave once I found him in there. The fact that she was drunk made the whole thing a bit funny. Although I didn’t really appreciate the whole interrogation thing. I didn’t see how it was any of their business.

I tried to tell them he wasn’t as bad as they made him seem, but they just weren’t having it. Raven and Hank seemed to most put off. I, on the other hand, couldn’t see what the big deal was. 

Once we got to the place they finally let it go. And my interaction with Professor Lehnsherr was quickly forgotten over some fries and sodas.   
I discovered they had tea, so I got some of that and spent most of the time there sitting back and watching everyone else laugh and have a good time. They were kind of entertaining to watch, being drunk. But eventually they just got stupid, and the restaurant owner asked us to leave.

When we get back to our dorms, I’m expecting to go right to bed, but apparently Hank has not forgotten about me and Professor Lehnsherr. Just as I’m climbing into bed, I hear through the darkness of our room, “I’d be careful when it comes to Lehnsherr, Elaine. He’s not as great as he seems.”

I’m quiet for a minute, not sure what to say. Finally I say, “Why? What’s so bad about him? He seemed perfectly fine tonight.”

“Elaine, I promise you, he’s not someone you should be spending time with.”

“I’m not planning on ‘spending time with him’ Hank. I just don’t see why you all hate him so much.”

There’s silence on his end. And then, “He tried to make a move on Angel; back when she was one of his students. She had stayed back after class was over to talk about her grade on a paper or something. She wanted to get extra credit to raise her final grade. And he offered...himself as an extra credit project.

“I was the only one Angel ever told. I found her crying in the park a week after it happened. It really bothered her. But she didn’t want to make a huge fuss over it, so she made me promise not to tell anyone.”

I swallow around the lump that has formed in my throat. “So then why are you telling me?”

“Because I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.” he answers. “I’m just trying to tell you to be careful.”

I stare up at the ceiling, disappointment sinking into my chest. It’s not like I thought anything would have become of me and the professor, but still. We had a nice conversation, and it’s sad to think he might have only done it all just to try and get into my pants.

Finally I close my eyes against the darkness of the room, suddenly realizing how tired I am from everything that’s happened today. Before falling asleep, I say to Hank, “Yeah, sure Hank. I will be.”


	10. Chapter 10

Erik’s P.O.V

“Checkmate, my friend.”

“Damn.”

“That’s the third game I’ve beat you out of four. Are you feeling alright, Erik? You’re usually much more alert than this.”

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”

“Liar. What’s wrong? You’re thinking about something, I can tell.”

“You’re a mind reader now, are you?”

“I dabble. Now come on. Tell me.”

“Alright. I’m white for the next game.”

“Not that, you stubborn man. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Here, this is your piece.”

“Erik...come on, who else are you going to talk to about this?”

“......”

“Exactly.”

A sigh. “Fine. But you’re not going to like it.”

“That won’t be new.”

“Do you want me to tell you?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet.”

“Thank you.” a deep breath. “I sort of, spent most of tonight talking...with a girl-”

“No!”

“Shut up.”

“Sorry, sorry, continue.”

“With a girl who is going to be...a student of mine as of tomorrow.” I check the clock. “Or rather, in a few hours.”

“Erik.”

“Charles.”

“Erik you remember how this ended last time didn’t you?”

“Hmm, let me see if I can remember. Got accused by a student, almost lost my job, almost had my entire reputation destroyed. Am I getting it right?”

“Then why would you want to risk it all again?”

“I’m not. I’m not doing anything.” 

“Then why is this girl taking up so much space in your mind?”

“...I don’t know. She’s interesting.”

“So you like her.”

“No. I just said she’s interesting. That’s all...You’re move, Charles.”

“Right...there.”  
There’s silence as the game continues. Both of us pretending to focus on the game, but really trying to process the conversation instead. I glance over at Charles, wondering how long it will be before he breaks. 

It doesn’t take long. I’m in the middle of moving a piece when he asks, “Interesting how?”

I stop and look up at him, my arm frozen as it is, stretched across the chessboard to claim his rook. I take it and then lean back in my chair, shrugging. “She’s just...different. She likes literature, she’s thoughtful.” A small grin crooks its way onto my face as I think about the girl I spent hours sitting and talking to. “She’s sweet. Not like the usual kids we teach every day.”

Charles watches me, taking in what I say and digesting it. Finally he says, “Please be careful, Erik. I don’t want to see your life ruined because you trusted the wrong person.”

I’m quiet as I take in his words. He was right of course. He was always the sensible one; ever since college. I was the emotional one. Doing before thinking. Sometimes it came in handy; others, not so much. 

But I know this wasn’t a time where any good could come out of acting without thinking. It could only lead to even more trouble than last time. 

So I nod, agreeing. And then look down at the board, only to realize he had me in checkmate, again.


	11. Chapter 11

Elaine’s P.O.V.

When my alarm clock wakes me up the next morning, Hank’s already gone. He had mentioned last night about having really early classes, so that didn’t surprise me. 

I check the clock again and realize that my first class isn’t for another two hours. I try to fall back to sleep for at least another hour, but my mind is too excited, thinking about everything that could happen today. It was my first day of freedom, and I couldn’t wait for it to start. 

I stare at the ceiling, trying to imagine what today might be like. I can feel the restlessness running through me, growing and growing until I can’t stay still anymore. I decide to try and find the showers. So I grab my stuff and head out.  
*****  
The showers aren’t too hard to find. It’s a large room, with several showers lining one wall, and sinks with mirrors lining the other. Everyone must be at classes, or still asleep, because the room is completely empty. Which is fine with me, because now I can play my music without anyone complaining. 

I hop into one of the stalls. It’s divided into two parts, one with a chair and hook for clothes and toiletries, and then there’s the shower area, which is hidden with a curtain. I turn on my phone, letting Wonderwall by Oasis pour into the empty room. Leaving it on the chair along with my clothes, I step into the shower part, turning the water on hot.  
Singing along softly with the song, I try to let the warm water wash away any and every thought, so that I wouldn’t stress myself out thinking too much. 

But no matter how hard I tried, Professor Lehnsherr kept floating back into my mind. Something about Hank’s story just seemed really unbelievable to me. I know I just met Prof. Lehnsherr last night, and I know I couldn’t make that much of a judgement of his character since I didn’t know him well enough, but nothing about him screamed willing to sleep with my students. A part of me felt wary towards him now, but I couldn’t fully believe what Hank told me. Not that I believe Hank has a reason to lie, but maybe Angel did. But then again…

I sigh, tossing my head back to let the water hit it. You’re not going to get anywhere by going in circles thinking about it. And besides, it’s not like it matters very much. It’s not like anything was going to come out of that one conversation you guys had. He’s not worth your mental space. Just let it go.  
*****  
After finishing my shower I drop my stuff off in my room, grab my bag, and then head to the park.

The campus looks really nice in the morning. The sun is bouncing off the trees; the leaves a shade of green that no paint could ever match. They look so pretty, I decide that’s what I’m going to draw. I sit down a little ways a way from the biggest tree I could see, plug in my headphones, and begin to draw. 

The soundtrack from Shrek! The Musical! comes on, and I skip ahead to Fiona’s first song. Yes, I live show tunes. I’ve never been in a play or musical, or done anything remotely theatre related, but the songs were always so much fun to listen to and sing along with. 

There’s a princess, in a tower. Oh my gosh! That’s just like me.

My lips move along with the words as I start to sketch out the trunk of the tree. 

Pretty maiden. Needs a haircut, but the witch won’t set her free. 

As the song continues I start to sing along absentmindedly. My mouth focusing on the words while my brain is on my drawing. I’ve always loved drawing trees, but they were always incredibly hard. As I move on to the branches, the song grows and along with it so does my voice. 

Erik’s P.O.V.

First day of classes. Possibly one of the most stressful days of the year. For students, it was meeting new people and trying to figure out where your classes are in time so you weren’t late. For teachers, it was hoping that you’d get a good group of students to teach. 

It wasn’t normally so bad, unless you were returning to the teaching after being falsely accused of sexually harassing a student. Then you had a whole other bunch of things to worry about. Like, how many rumours are spreading around already? How many kids will transfer out because they’re afraid of me. How long is it before someone does it again and this time actually gets me fired?

I shake my head, trying to clear away these thoughts. It wasn’t worth all the worrying. I had other things to focus on. Like getting to my first class of the day before my students. 

I hurry across campus, careful not to bump into anyone. Charles and I had been playing chess until at least 2:30 this morning, and forgot to set the alarm before we fell asleep. I woke up this morning to Charles yelling at me with a mouthful of toothpaste to wake up because classes start in an hour. 

Quickening my pace across the park, I desperately begin to hope that this year I had the type of students who waited till the last possible minute to get to class. 

I’m about halfway through, when I hear a sound that stops me dead in my tracks.

A soft voice floats across the field, singing. I don’t recognize the song, but the voice sounds kind of familiar.  
I know I should be getting to class, but my feet stay planted where they are, my eyes searching for the voice. It’s sweet, but grows stronger and stronger with each note. 

Finally my eyes land on the owner of the voice. A smile spreads out onto my face as I realize who it belongs to.

Elaine.

Somehow I’m not that surprised. She already had a nice voice to begin with, so the fact that her singing voice was just as good fit perfectly.

My class and students are momentarily forgotten as I listen to her voice wrap around the lyrics, adding life and soul to the,. 

I’m only broken out of the music when my cell phone in my back pocket starts to buzz.

I answer it, the spell Elaine’s voice placed over me broken. “Hello?  
I ask, placing the small device to my ear.

“Lehnsherr!” A deep voice growls on the other end. “Where the fuck are you man? Your students are here, and they all want to know where their teacher has gotten off to. These kids paid ten thousand fucking dollars to be here, Lehnsherr. Don’t waste their time.”

I had started to jog as soon as I heard that it was Logan-the headmaster of the school-but by the time he was finished talking I was sprinting, leaving Elaine and her voice behind.

“I’m on my way. I’ll be right there.” I say, trying not to pant into the phone.

“You’d better. Run faster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cause it wouldn't be an x-men fanfic without Wolverine...


	12. Chapter 12

Elaine’s P.O.V.

 

“Good morning class. I hope you’ve been having a great first day so far. My name is Professor Xavier. Some of you have taken my classes before, and it’s wonderful to see all of you back here. To those of you who are new, welcome. I hope you enjoy the class.”

 

I’m sitting in my second class, Psychology 1. My whole point of majoring in art was to become an art therapist, and so this was a required class. A lot of people were complaining about having to be in this class because of all the reading and homework. But I was looking forward to it. 

 

The teacher is Professor Xavier. The man Raven was gushing about last night. He seems really nice. He spends the first past of class talking and joking with the students he’s taught before, and also takes the time to get to know the ones that are new. Everyone seems to love him.

 

He spends the rest of the class going over what we’ll be doing throughout the year. Things like the developmental stages of the brain, behavior, mental health, etc. It all sounds really interesting. We don’t do very much though, it’s mainly just and introduction. 

Every class turns out to be that way. We get introduced to the teacher, play some ice-breaker games, and talk about what we’ll be learning. The first half of the day goes by really fast, and before I know it I’m headed to the cafe to meet Hank, Alex and Darwin for lunch. 

 

I grab my food and then head out to the park where they’re waiting. They’re sitting under the tree that I was drawing earlier. I join them, and we all start talking about how our days have been so far. Hank and Darwin start complaining about how their classes are already giving them homework, while Alex and I compare our ice-breaker game sheets. Raven and Sean soon join us, making the conversation louder and funnier

 

After lunch Alex, Darwin, and I stay in the park for a little, while everyone else leaves for their next class. I know I probably should head over soon, but my next class is English, and I’m kind of nervous about seeing Professor Lehnsherr. 

 

So I sit there with Alex and Darwin, talking and having a good time. I can’t help but notice the way that Alex leans into Darwin’s shoulder; and how Darwin’s hand half cover’s Alex’s, his thumb making a map on his skin. It was like they were two halves, only forming a whole when they were melting together. 

 

“I should probably get going.” Darwin says eventually. “I’ve got a math class on the other side of campus, and I don’t want to be late. I’ve been told Ms. McTaggert is not fun when she’s angry.”

 

“See you later.” I say as he starts to gather his things. He gives Alex a tender kiss on his lips, says bye to both of us, and then walks off. 

 

Alex watches him for a moment as he walks away, and then turns back to me. I just can’t resist commenting, “You two are so ridiculously cute, Alex.”

 

He blushes and glances down at the grass; a sheepish smile forming on his lips. “Thanks.” he laughs a little. 

 

“How’d you two meet?”

 

His smile falters a little as he looks up at me, and I wonder if I should have just stayed quiet. But then he says, “We were lab partners our junior year for Chemistry. The two of us became friends and...I don’t know.” his grin returns. “It just kind of built from there.”

 

I smile. “That’s really cool.”

 

He nods. “Yeah Darwin he’s...he’s really great.”

 

We stay there for a little while longer, but eventually we both head to class. The two of us split, going our separate ways. Him to Science, and me to English. My stomach flipping, wondering what would await me in Professor Lehnsherr’s classroom.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, clearly I didn't make it for NaNoWriMo. Oh well, next year maybe. But I'm really liking this story, and others seem to be as well, so I'm definitely going to be continuing. Maybe not as frequent, but I will

It’s a little bit of a hike to get to the classroom, but it goes by fast with everything that’s floating around in my head. How would Professor Lehnsherr act? Would he be the same as he was at the restaurant last night, or would he be completely different? And how should I be acting? The same as last night, or not so friendly? Should I ignore him and only talk to him when necessary? OR should I…

This went on the entire walk over to his room, but the second I walked in, my brain was silenced.   
There stood Professor Lehnsherr in the front of the class, waiting for everyone to settle down. His turtleneck from yesterday has been replaced by a coat covering a white dress shirt and a light blue tie. He was also wearing black dress pants- that clearly fit him very well- and his hair was slicked back, only adding to the whole college professor look. 

His head turns to see who’s coming in. I notice his eyes widen slightly as he realizes that it’s me. His lips turn up into a careful smile, that’s barely even there. But his eyes, bright green and shivering, make up the differences. 

My stomach stops, and then starts turning in the other direction. My eyes flit away from his gaze and I take my seat a few rows away from him. But then as if they have a mind of their own, they go right back to him, to find that he’s still staring. I give him a small grin, and he finally looks away. 

“Alright, seems like everyone’s here.” he says, addressing the class. “My name is Professor Lehnsherr. Welcome to English. If you enjoy english than you’ll love this class. If you don’t enjoy it...well then I’m not really sure why you’re in here to be honest.”

A few kids chuckle. My lips turn up slightly. 

“We’ll be covering a great deal of topics before this class is over. Literature- both   
old and new-writing, grammar, and other things. I’ve done my best to come up with interesting topics to go over, and I hope you like them. I have a list...here…” he walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a stack of red papers. Passing them out he continues, “...of all the things we’ll be covering.”

The papers get passed, and the room quiets as people begin to read. Then slowly the noise builds up, voices on top of voices as the students begin to talk to Prof. Lehnsherr about the things on the list. 

I stay quiet, my eyes scanning the paper. After my eyes reach the bottom, I drag them back to the top and restart; trying to keep my eyes mind busy so they don’t go wandering back over to Professor. 

The rest of the class is like that, trying not to let myself get swept up in his sarcasm and charm. And his eyes. Those deep, colorful eyes…

I shake my head, knocking away these thoughts. Not right, don’t think that. Remember-you’re a student, he’s your teacher. You’re a student, he’s your teacher. You’re a-

“Is everything alright, Ms. Dobbs?” I suddenly hear from above me. I tilt my head up to find those eyes I was just fantasizing about staring down at me. “You seem a bit, occupied.”

“Oh, um...no. No, I’m fine. I’m listening, sorry.” I stammer, torn between staring back and looking away, and as a result end up doing an awkward combo of both.

His gaze stays rested on me, for only a moment I know, but it feels like hours. My heart feels like a drum and I can feel my blood pumping through me, making it feel like I’m sitting in an oven. Something starts to explode in my stomach, like little firecrackers all going off, one after the other after the other. Finally he looks away and goes back to teaching the class. I drop my eyes down to my chucks.

Fuck. All that from one look? Pull yourself together Elaine.

I stare intently down at my shoes and that’s how I remain the rest of class, in order to keep my dignity.


	14. Chapter 14

 

The bell finally-thank everything good in this world-rings, signaling the end of class. I don’t have another class for a little while, so as I gather my things I try to decide whether I want to go back to the room, or maybe go sit outside somewhere and do something. But my thoughts are halted when a shadow falls across my bag. 

I look up and, guess who? Professor Lehnsherr. I can’t tell if I’m frustrated or excited to be talking to him again. 

“Ms. Dobbs, would you mind staying after for a moment? I’d like to speak with you. Unless you have to be somewhere in a rush…”

 

“Oh, um...no. No I can stay.”

“Great, thank you.” 

All the other kids walk out, some casting curious glances my way. I take out my sketchbook and doodle as I wait for them all to leave. I accidentally get a little too focused on my doodle turned drawing, and so when Professor comes up from behind me and says, “Wow, You’re amazing.” I jump so high I nearly fall out of my seat.

“Oh! Oh I am so sorry.” he places one hand on my shoulder and the other on my elbow to settle me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

His hands are warm. Like, just-got-out-of-the-dryer warm. My breathing slows down but my heart starts to race. They burn through my skin, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a handprint left over from his touch later.

“I-It’s fine.” I say, my body completely still. I don’t know if I’m not moving because I’m scared if I do he’ll stop; or if I want him to stop and so I’m not moving to show I’m waiting for him to stop. 

After a second he takes away his hands, and my skin immediately gets a little colder. He sits in the desk to my left. “So, Elaine-or, Ms.Dobbs, or-which one do you prefer?”

It occurs to me that he’s nervous. I can’t help but grin just a touch at that thought. “Elaine’s fine.” 

One of the corners of his lips quirk up. “Alright...Elaine.

“I just wanted to talk about last night. And make sure being in my class wasn’t going to be a problem for you.”

I shake my head. “No. No, I don’t think so anyway.” I pause. “Is it going to be a problem for you?”

“I hope not.” he says, voice quiet and eyes on his shoes. 

_ His pointy toed shoes. _ I think. The song from legally blonde musical starts playing in my head.

_ Gay or just exotic? I still can't crack the code. Yet, his accent is hypnotic. But his shoes are pointy toed… _

“Ms. Dobbs are you okay?” 

I snap my attention back up to him, realizing that I had been frowning at his shoes as the musical played in my head. I can feel the heat rushing to my face as I answer, “Oh, yeah. Um. I’m sorry I just-”

 

“Wondering where you could get yourself a fine pair of shoes such as these?” he cracks a smile.

I roll my eyes, but that smile caught me off guard so I end up smiling back as well. “I just...was thinking of a song. That’s all.” 

“Hmm.” he says, the grin widening. “About shoes? I took you for a reading girl, not a shopping one.” 

“Well you only had one full conversation with me. You know everything about a person from one conversation.” I say.

Professor laughs. “That’s very true.” he eyes me for a minute then says, “Well, I think this would count as the second full conversation we’ve had. Wouldn’t you?”

“I guess I would, yeah.”

“Good” there’s a lull in the conversation, and I’m about to excuse myself so I can head to supper with Hank and the rest of the guys, when Professor suddenly asks, “Would you like to make it a third?”

The words come out fast, as if he was afraid he wouldn’t have been able to say them if he hadn’t forced them out. 

“What?” I ask, not sure I heard him right. 

“Would you like to make it a third. Conversation that is.” he clarifies. His eyes rest on me, keeping me frozen in my desk like a deer in headlights. Except I’m a deer that wants to be run over. 

“And...how are you thinking we would do that?” I ask, curious as to where he was trying to take this. 

He must sense my caution because his eyes soften and he says, “Relax, Ms. Dobbs. I’m only suggesting a cup of coffee. There’s a small shop right here on campus. Many students and teachers often go there. Especially during test weeks.” He says these things casually but the meaning behind them is clear-he wasn’t trying to get me involved with anything I didn’t want. And we wouldn’t get in trouble for being seen together. 

I think about it for a moment. He’s not asking me to do anything wrong. And there’s no way I can pretend that I don’t enjoy talking to him. And besides, what would be so bad with grabbing a cup of tea and having a conversation with someone?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short, and that I haven't posted in a while. More is on the way though!! And I think it's finally going to be headed somewhere ;) *wink wink*

If you had told me I would be sitting at a coffee shop the first day of college laughing with my english teacher about a memory from when I was five and fell off my bike; I would have asked you what you were smoking.

 

But that’s exactly what I find myself doing. Professor Lehnsherr’s “shark” grin faces mine from across the booth we’ve been sharing for the past hour.  We had come to the shop expecting it the trip to result in nothing but a quick cup of coffee-or, tea for me-and a small conversation. But just like the night before, the conversation blossomed and three cups later we were so absorbed in what the other was saying leaving didn’t even seem possible.

 

I don’t even know how we got to talking about my five year old self and my old red bike. We started talking about english, and suddenly the conversation was just flowing. Random and out of our control.

 

As I sit listening to him mirror my childhood story with one of his own, I realize I could sit there for the rest of the night and not get bored, or tired of listening to him talk. Not only is he interesting, and easy to talk to. But his voice is smooth and so captivating. He could be giving a lecture on bees and why they didn’t get along with flies and I would be just as calm and relaxed as I am now.

 

Just as I decide I am content to stay here the rest of the night, my stomach decides to make other plans; and lets out a huge growl.

 

I blush furiously and laugh nervously. “Um, sorry.” I laugh, embarrassed.

 

Professor Lehnsherr gives me this crooked grin that I want to hang off of and shakes his head. “Don’t apologize for a normal human function.” He glances down at his watch. “Oh wow, I’ve kept you much later than I intended to.”

 

I glance at the clock and realize he’s right. It’s past dinner time at the cafe. _Hank and everyone else will probably be wondering where I’ve run off to._

“I do apologize,” he says. “To you and your stomach. I think I’ve caused you to miss your super. I hope you both aren’t too angry with me.” his grin remains through his joke and the combination makes me giggle. I didn’t even know I was _capable_ of giggling this much before I met Professor Lehnsherr.

 

“No worries.” I say, returning the grin. “I think I can forgive you. My stomach on the other hand…”

 

Lehnsherr chuckles. “Well then allow me to make it up to you both. Come to dinner with me. I know a really nice place. My friend Charles and I go there quite often. And it’s not too far from here.”

 

He stares across the table from me with nervous, but hopeful eyes. His eyes are just as captivating as his voice. Like pools I could dive right into.

  
_Or fall into unexpectedly._ I think as I hear myself say without hesitation, “That sounds great. Let’s go.”

 

The restaurant turns out to be a little bistro within walking distance of the coffee shop, so Lehnsherr and I head out, the sun just starting to set as we begin walking. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Erik’s P.O.V**

_ She is beautiful _ …

 

Is all I can think as I stare at Ms.Dobbs across our table. We’re seated outside a small bistro not too far from the campus. The walk here had been pleasant. Filled with more of the easily flowing conversation we had been having back at the coffee shop. 

I have never met another woman like Elaine. Or ever felt this comfortable spending this much time with another person. Besides Charles, that is. 

Watch her talk animatedly about a piece of music she recently heard. Her hands fly, gesturing a mile a minute as she talks about how powerful the sound was, and how the artist's voice “ _ sounded like pure emotion _ ”. It’s amazing, watching her talk. She gets so excited and involved in the topic she talks about. It's invigorating to have a conversation with someone so passionate. 

 

And it's also extremely adorable to watch her hands fly all over the place.

Her speech slows as she finished talking about the song. “I’m sorry.” she blushes. “I’ve been going on and on about a song for the past fifteen minutes. You must be so bored.”

“On the contrary, Ms. Dobbs. I find your tangents to be quite fascinating.”

This comment seems to make her blush even deeper, which is illuminated by all the tiny white lights strung around the outside of the restaurant. 

 

Tiny white lights have become my favorite thing, I suddenly realize. 

A shy smile on her face, Elaine peers up at me through her long eyelashes. “You know I’m not always like this. I can be very quiet and barely say anything. But it’s like whenever I’m around you it’s like I can’t shut up.”

I chuckle. Her confidence slowly is returning, and she lifts her head fully to look at me. “You’re very easy to talk to, Professor Lehnsherr.” 

I hesitate, filled with the curiosity of what it would be like to hear  _ Erik _ roll off her lips.

“Well Ms.Dobbs,” my own lips curl up into a grin as if they have a mind of their own. Which, lately they seem to. “You’re very easy to listen to.”

She gives me a full smile, and damn the lights.  _ That _ . Her smile is definitely my new favorite things. 

***********

THe rest of dinner is fantastic. Our conversation passes back and forth like a well played tennis match. Exciting and fun. 

We talk about her majoring in art, and how she’s thinking about being an art teacher after college. We talk about my job and what got me interested in teaching college. We talk about all the big, important things. 

And once those are out of the way we move onto everything else. Childhood memories, music tastes-a mutual appreciation for classical-, how beautiful the sky is when the sun is just starting to set, even ice cream and how white mint chocolate chip is a very underappreciated flavor. 

We find that we’re able to talk about basically anything that comes to our minds. We agree on so many things, so obviously that's wonderful. But it’s just as good when we disagree because we each get to share our opinion with the other. Someone we know actually cares and is listening. So either way, we understand each other. 

The diner lasts long into the night, but even when the check comes, it doesn’t feel long enough. 

I offer to pay, but Ms.Dobbs insists on putting in half. 

“This was nice.” she says as we pool our money in. “I really enjoyed myself.”

“Me too.” I say. “Pretty good for a first date.”

I spoke without thinking. Not realizing what the words were until they were out of my mouth and the damage had already been done.

I tense, heated embarrassment coursing through me. “Ms.Dobbs I...I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean...I don’t know why I…” I sigh heavily in frustration. “I do apologize. I wasn’t trying to imply anything. I don’t know why those words slipped out.”

She hesitates with her reply, then gives me a cautious smile. I wait to hear the worst, and am surprised when instead I hear, “It’s okay. As far as first dates go, you’re right. It wasn’t too bad.”

I stare at her grinning at me, and I laugh. “So is that what this is then? A date?”

“Um...I don’t know  _ professor _ . You tell me. They were your words not mine.”

I pause for a moment, wanting to chose my next words carefully. After the situation I was in last year I don’t want to put my job in any more danger than it already has been. 

Bu Elaine is far different from Angel. I don’t know her completely, but I think i can make at least that assumption. 

And I realize with sudden clarity that I wasn't to know her even better than that. I want this night to continue into many many more. 

So I lean in slightly with my elbows on the table, arms crossed in front o each other, “Call me Erik. But there is something I’d like to clear up. No doubt your friends have already given their side about my...history with Angel.”

Elaine glances down at her hands and I know that I’m right. “Hank...told me some things, yeah.But they didn’t seem, right. I wanted to find out the whole truth before making a judgement about anything.”

“Before making a judgement about  _ me _ ?” I ask. She looks up at me and nods. 

“Well if you’ll allow me to I’d like to tell you my side of the story.” I wait, for her to give me permission to continue.

“Alright.” she agrees. I take a deep breath, and then dive into the whole thing. 

I tell Elaine everything, not leaving any detail out. I tell her all about Angel, and how she was friendlier than most students. How she would start conversations, come in for extra help, really showed interests in the assignments. 

“And yes,” I confess. “I liked talking to her. She was pleasant to have conversations with, and treated me like a friend, not a teacher she couldn’t wait to get away from.But it wasn’t at all like this. There were no romantic feelings involved.” Again, I realize what I’ve said once it’s too late. I feel a blush of my own forming on my face.

Her lips twist as she tries to hide a smile, but it doesn’t seem to be working out for her. 

Clearing my throat I quickly plow ahead, explaining how the ordeal started. 

“One day before finals week Angel stayed after for some extra help. We went over all the information possible. Spent over an hour pouring over the books. 

“Even at the time it seemed like she knew most of the material, and didn’t need nearly as much help as she was asking for. But I can be quite naive at times so unfortunately I couldn’t see what she was trying to do. 

“I wasn’t until we were finished with the review and she...made her move, you could say, that I finally realized what she was trying to do.

“I was so caught of guard, and a more than a little embarrassed, the only thing I could think to do was ask her to leave. But I suppose her pride took a bigger hit than her feelings because the next day I was called into the Head Master’s office, being asked why I was harassing one of my students.”

I pause to take a sip of my leftover cola, recalling that day and how close Logan had come to ripping my head off. 

“Apparently Angel had turned the whole thing around and claimed that I was the one to put the moves on her. And that she was the one who refused. 

“The whole thing got settled pretty quickly. We called her in right then and there and she confessed in about all of twenty minutes.” I pause and lock my eyes with her. She was listening intently, but gave nothing away with her face. “If you don’t believe me I understand, but I appreciate you at least hearing me out.”

I wait, for her to say goodbye, or that she understands but needs space, I wait for at least a nod. I wait for  _ anything _ .

And then, she smiles. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the update took so long! There will be more to come hopefully tonight. I hope you all enjoy where I take these guys.

**Elaine’s P.O.V.**

EARLY THAT AFTERNOON

“Alright class that’s enough for today. Please don’t forget about the reading I assigned you. See you all tomorrow!”

There’s a shuffling of quiet activity as everyone gathers books and bags and leaves Professor Xavier’s classroom. 

I’m halfway to the door myself when I hear Professor calling my name. 

“Ms. Dobbs can I see you for a moment please?”

“Sure Professor, what’s up?”

“There’s something I would like to discuss with you...regarding Professor Lehnsherr…”

PRESENT TIME

I laugh a little at Erik’s incredulous stare as I finish telling the story. “Charles told you everything? The whole story?”

I nod. “He was trying to assure me that you weren’t in the wrong last year. And also to make sure I didn’t cause anything similar or worse.”

Erik blushes, seeming to not know whether he should be frustrated or relieved. FInally he clears his throat and says quietly, I do hope you believe me when I say I did not put him up to having that conversation with you, Ms. Dobbs. Charles can be a bit...nosy, to say the least.”

I grin  _ He’s so adorable when he gets flustered. _ “Yes, I believe both of you. I just wanted to see your side of things and see if they matched.”

“Thank you for being so willing to hear me out, Ms. Dobbs.” Erik says. And by his soft, appreciate tone, it makes me feel like not a lot of people are always willing to do that.

“Of course. And please…” I reach over and rest my hand on his arm. Looking up at him through my lashes I give him a shy smile. “Call me Elaine.” 

**********

An hour or so later we’re walking up to the entrance of the college. 

“Elaine, I had an incredible time with you tonight” Erik smiles down at me. The rest of the night had been easy and relaxed. Now that the whole Angel story had been explained- _ twice _ , thanks to Professor Xavier-we could move on and just be Elaine and Erik, two people who like each other. And be free to see where it goes. 

There’s still the whole student-teacher thing we would need to be careful about; but we both agreed it seems worth it to try it. We’ll just have to watch our steps. 

I had only ever had one serious boyfriend before in my life. And gone on a few half-assed dates in addition. I’m not totally sure where this thing with Erik is going to go, and to be honest all night I’ve been kind of doubting that I have the experience needed to make whatever this is work out. 

I’m almost about to open my mouth and say something along those lines. But then suddenly I feel Erik’s hand sliding against mine, and I look up in slight surprise as our fingers lace together. 

His eyes glimmer underneath the dim lights spread across the parking lot. “You’re quite lovely when you blush.” Erik’s voice is lilting, soft, and possibly the most inviting thing in the world. 

“L-lovely?” I manage to stammer out.

“Mm-hmmm. It’s almost unfair, actually.” I hadn’t realized he had been leaning in closer, but I suddenly notice I can count the freckles scattered across his face. 

I think one more time about voicing my insecurities, But his free hand has found it’s way to my waist; and that seems to have turned off my ability to think. So I put any doubts I have on the shelf. And when his lips softly press against mine, and my eyes fall shut against the world, the only thing remaining in the head is:

_ Wow. _


	18. Chapter 18

I spend more time than I probably should thinking about how soft Erik’s lips were. Ir how the world seemed to blur and float away while he was kissing me. Basically every cliche for a first kiss you can think of. 

I  mean, I’ve been kissed before, but no guy has ever made me feel like  _ that _ .

My mom told me this story about a guy she dated before she met my father. She had these moments where she got all sentimental and decided she wanted to have the kind of mother-daughter relationship where we “shared everything with each other” (Most of the time she did the sharing though. Which, looking back is probably why she liked it so much. Talking about things related to her was one of her favorite hobbies.)

So this one time she was dating a guy named Marcus. And whenever she talked about him she would get this dreamy look on her face and claim that Marcus had given her the best kisses of her life. 

As I sit and watch Erik give the class a lecture on the latest reading assignment, I can’t help but think with a grin,  _ Erik is definitely my Marcus. _

**********

By the time I shuffle into my first class the next morning, I feel like a middleschool girl obsessing over a crush. 

The whole day I’m in a sort of daze. Everyone wants to know why I missed dinner and then another visit to Angel;s bar. I mumble something vaguely about getting caught up in an art project. While that doesn’t completely pacify them, it gets them to leave me alone. 

They quickly change tracks and Raven starts telling me about some boy she met at the club. Apparently her wish for a hot international had finally come true. 

“His name’s Azazeal, and  _ ohmygoodness _ Elaine he’s so fucking hot. He has these gorgeous eyes and this accent that’s just…” she fans herself with her napkin and pretends to swoon. At least, I’m pretty sure she’s pretending. 

I laugh and congratulate her on her find. But not without noticing Hank rolling his eyes as he stares grumpily down at his lunch. “He seemed kinda arrogant to me if I’m being honest.”

Raven throws a fry at Hank, which ends up bouncing off his glasses and diving into his smoothie. Of course making Sean crack up. I have quickly learned his maturity level stopped developing in the eighth grade. 

“He’s Russian, Hank.” Raven is quick to defend her new love interest. “It's’ not his fault he seems a little aggressive. And besides,” she winks. “I like ‘em just a bit rough.”

I laugh into my iced tea along with everyone else. Out of the corner of my eye though, I swear I see Hank swallowing harder than a smoothie requires. 

“So Elaine,” Raven suddenly turns to me. “Got your eyes on anyone yet?” when I pause she widens her eyes and adds, “Or anyone-ss?”

“Um, no. Not really. None of the um, boys here have really caught my attention just yet.” I take another sip of my tea, praying my normal tell-tale blush stays far far away.

“Any of the girls?” Raven grins mischievously.

I chuckle. “No, none of those either. Well, except maybe you.” I say jokingly as I wink at her. She laughs, and the conversation drifts from romance. 

Thank goodness. I can be a pretty shitty liar sometimes, and if they kept questioning me about it they probably would have gotten something out of my eventually. And with Erik and me just getting started, I don’t want any kind of word getting out and risk screwing it up. 

Darwin starts talking about something called a “Welcome Fall” Party, bringing me out of my thoughts. 

Hiding my relief at the subject change, I jump on the opportunity and ask, “What’s a ‘Welcome Fall’ party?”

“Just the corniest thing in the world.” Sean snorts. 

“C’mon guys, it’s really not that bad.” Alex protests. 

“Um, you’re gay dude. Your vote on those kinds of things don’t count.” Sean teases. Raven throws another one of her fries at Sean; this one getting caught in his unruly reddish hair.

“No gay stereotypes allowed.” Raven commands, smirking as she picks up a fry and actually eats it this time. 

“I was kidding. You know, jokes? Ever heard of those? C’mon we all know Alex is like one of the most macho guys we know.”

Alex shrugs and stretches, over-exaggerating extremely “Well what can I say? If you got it, you got it.” 

“And you definitely got it baby.” Darwin kisses him on the cheek and everyone collectively groans-slash awwws. 

Once the cute moment has passed, my mind returns to the previous topic. “So what makes the dance so corny?”

“The school has one for every season. They have it in the gym and go crazy with the decorations.” Raven explains. “The fall and spring one’s okay. Winter’s always super cute. And summer is the absolute best!” 

“Angel used to sneak us in all the time.” Hank says, mood improving since Azazeal has been forgotten. “They actually can be kind of fun.” 

“It sounds interesting.” I agree. “When is it?”

“In like a couple weeks, I think.” Darwin answers. “I heard some of the teachers talking about it.” he shoots us a grin; and I instantly see why Alex can’t keep his eyes off Darwin sometimes. “Being a co-op for Ms. Ducolon is going great. I’m gettin’  _ all _ the dirt.”

Darwin was spending the first semester as his english teacher Ms. Ducolon’s co-op. Fortunately for him, she was the biggest gossip amongst the faculty. So Darwin would always come back to us with the juiciest stories.

“Do you think you’ll bring a date, Elaine?” Raven asks me. 

“Um…” I pause, my eyes sliding over to where Erik and Charles are having lunch a few tables over. But before my mind can allow me a useless daydream of Erik and I slow dancing, I snap my eyes back to Raven and say, “No, I don’t see it happening. Maybe to the next one.”

“If you want I could set you up with someone.” she offers. “I have a lot of guys in my contact list looking for a date.” she waggles her eyebrows suggestively at me. 

I laugh, “Thanks Raven, but I’m good just tagging along with you guys and being the third wheels.”

Sean raises his glass and motions for Hank to copy him. “To third wheels.” he says. 

“To third wheels!” Hank and I repeat, laughing. 

As I take a sip of my drink I can’t help my eyes from sliding back over to Erik. And as stupid as it is, I can’t help but let that fantasy of us play out just a little bit in my mind...


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, y'all. College got suuper busy, But, I really want to get back into the swing of writing things, so hopefully summer break will give me the time to do this. Also, this is my first time writing any sort of sexy times in a while, so I hope it comes out alright for ya ;)

The rest of lunch helps me to get my mind off Erik, but by the time his class rolls around, all the nerves come rushing back. I pause outside his door, clutching my books to my chest. 

“You’re being stupid.  _ Stop it _ .” I murmur to myself. Taking a deep breath I open the door and step inside. 

There are only a few students so far. Most on their phones, a couple going over some notes. The windows are open, bringing in sun and fresh air; making the whole room smells like grass. 

Erik’s not in the room yet, so I’m able to take my seat without becoming too nervous. 

As we wait for class to start I plug in my earbuds and take out my sketchbook. I flip open to a blank, fresh page, and start a little nonsense sketch of a skyline. 

I’m halfway through drawing the buildings when I hear a familiar deep voice over the sound of  _ Old Dominion _ . 

“Good afternoon students. Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday..” 

I pull one earbud out and turn the volume down as Erik starts the lesson. 

Along with the rest of the students I take notes, I absorb the informations. But unlike the rest of my classmates, every once in awhile when Erik turns around, I’m remembering what that mouth spouting E.E Cummings facts tastes like. 

**********

The next two weeks are filled with secret kisses in empty classrooms, quiet dates at Eriks apartments (Netflix marathons included), dinners, and lots of incredible conversations.

It’s amazing, the time I spend with Erik. We connect on almost every level, and lately I find myself feeling like I just can’t get enough of him. 

Literally. I cannot get enough of him. Having a secret relationship did add a sense of adventure to the whole relationship, but it also made it hard to get as close as we want. 

We try to see each other during his breaks, but there’s always a student, or teachers’ meeting, or  _ something _ taking him away. 

And as I get closer to Hank and the group, they start inviting me to more and more things at night. I can only claim to work on my art project-which honestly was true sometimes-so many times. So it’s proven hard to be alone for too long. It’s frustrating, but with our type of relationship there’s not much we can do about it. 

**********

“Alright guys, great class today. I’ll see you next time with your poetry homework completed.”

As usual I take my time packing up my things, seeing if it was possible to snatch some alone time with Erik. But today he seems to have read my mind, He practically chases the rest of the class out of the room. And then the next thing I know his arms are wrapped around me, cradling my body against his. 

“Hi.” he murmurs, his forehead pressing against mine. 

“Hi.” I respond, my lips already parting to meet his hot and insistent ones. 

My hands come up and find the belt loops on his pants, my fingers slipping in so I can tug him closer to me. The kiss grows quickly, weeks of longing and sexual frustration spilling out. 

He groans low in his throat as I begin to nibble on his bottom lip. “I’ve been going absolutely crazy. Thinking about everything I want to do to you. All the places I want to kiss you, feel you…” his voice grows huskier and slower as I kiss a trail from his lips to his neck, down to his chest; his tie stopping me from going any farther. 

This whole time his hands had crept down to my sides and I gasp as I feel his fingers creep up underneath my tank top. His hands are hot on my skin, sending shivers of nerves up my spine. His tie still in the way, and my fingers caught in his belt loops, I act on instinct and pull off his tie with my teeth, letting it fall between our bodies to the floor. 

Erik watches me, his breathing heavy and slow, as I begin to pop open the buttons on his shirt. I untuck it from his pants and leave it hanging loosely open as I trail my hands over the planes of his chest. He’s every bit of handsome-late-twenties english-teacher you'd expect. I lean in and kiss a line down his chest, but I don’t get very far before Erik is pulling me back up, his lips attaching to my neck. His breath is warm against my skin, and I know for a fact there will be some marks I’ll need to be covering up with makeup tomorrow. 

“I know this probably would be fulfilling every teacher-slash-student fantasy ever made, but my office is right through that door…” he says shyly into my ear. “We don’t have to necessarily go too far, but a little kissing never hurt anyone,right?”

I pull away to grin at him. “No, I don’t think it has.” I take his hand in mine. “Lead the way,  _ Professor. _ ”

Erik’s eyes, already slightly blown up with lust glint down at me mischievously. Without even saying a word he’s scooping me up and carrying me into his small office built into the classroom. 

It’s not a huge room, just big enough for a desk, bookshelf-filled with books of course-a small office chair, and a tiny couch in the corner. 

I expect Erik to lay us down on the couch, but instead he carries me over to the desk, gently setting me down on top of it. He stands in front of me, one of his legs slipping in between mine. As close as he’s standing to me it still feels too far away. Now that we have the chance I don’t want to waste a second of this precious alone time. 

Wanting his lips back on mine I grab the collar if his shirt and pull him down back to me. His lips are needy, drawing out sighs from both of us. His leg inches closer and closer in between mine, and on instinct I tighten them, the friction making my stomach flip.  

Erik’s hands slip down to my waist, his fingers curling into the pockets of my jeans. This way he’s able to pull me closer to him and slightly off the desk. I wrap both my legs around his waist, and slowly pull away from his mouth. His shirt is still unbuttoned, teasingly revealing parts of his torso. 

I go to take it off, but then look up at him to make sure it’s okay. He gives me a nod instantly and I let his shirt fall to the floor like I did his tie. 

All I can do once his shirt if off is stare at him for a moment. He’s all curves and edges. I place both my palms on his chest, enjoying how firm he is underneath my fingers. I slide my hands slowly down his body, enjoying the sharp intake of breath it brings from him. 

My hands are just getting to the belt looped through his pants, and his lips are just starting to re capture mine when suddenly there’s a noise from the classroom. 

Or rather, a voice. 

“Professor Lehnsherr?”

Erik and I both jump, pulling back immediately. “Shit.” we both mutter. 

“ _ Professor Lehnsherr? _ ” The student persists, his voice getting closer and closer to Erik’s office door. 

“Go, take care of him before he comes in here and sees us.” I say, doing my best to quickly button up his shirt. I peck him on the lips and then push him towards the door. 

He runs out of his office to see to his student, leaving me sitting on his desk; still breathing slightly hard with the taste of his kiss still on my tongue. Laughing at the timing, and hoping this kid doesn’t take too long. 

Erik stays out there for about 20 minutes, before I hear him give the student a slightly rushed good-bye; and comes back into the room. 

“Now,” he says, that mischievous grin back on his beautiful face. “,where were we?”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's so short. College is crazy. But definitely more to come soon. Feeling pretty inspired after re watching some of my old favorite x-men fanvids!

“Joey’s your favorite, really?”

“Yes. Why is that so surprising to you?”

“I don’t know. I would have guessed Ross. The  _ dark and brooding _ type.”

“Is that how you see me? Dark and brooding?”

“Mmm...sometimes. But don’t worry. Girls find that attractive.”

“How lucky for me.”

There wasn’t too much talking after that. And we had to rewind back a couple episodes…


End file.
